The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., will play host to the first big Bellator card of 2020 when the organization’s biggest signing in years gets set to make her eagerly anticipated debut.
Cris Cyborg’s title challenge against defending champion Julia Budd forms the headline act on a packed card of fights, with strong support provided by a fascinating clash in the Bellator featherweight grand prix. Throw a host of interesting matchups into the mix, including the return of Aaron Pico, and it all adds up to a solid card of fights on the West Coast.
Here are five burning questions ahead of fight night on Saturday:
Can “The Jewel” turn back the challenge of Cyborg?
Former UFC, Strikeforce and Invicta featherweight champion Cris Cyborg has won almost everything there is to win in the sport of MMA. Now she gets the opportunity to add another belt to her growing trophy cabinet when she takes on Bellator’s 145-pound women’s champion, Julia Budd.
Cyborg (21-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) lost her UFC featherweight title in spectacular fashion to Amanda Nunes, and her quest to get back to the top of the promotion ended somewhat acrimoniously. The Brazilian eventually left the UFC as a free agent. Scott Coker and Bellator wasted no time in snapping up Cyborg’s services, and the promoter who helped guide the Brazilian to the top of women’s MMA during their time with Strikeforce has offered her a shot at championship gold in her first fight for the promotion.
But to label this fight as simply a coronation exercise would be to disrespect the current champion. Budd (13-2 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) hasn’t lost since she was armbarred in only hour fourth professional fight by a young Ronda Rousey back in Strikeforce nine years ago. Since then, “The Jewel” has gone from strength to strength as she has risen the ranks to become Bellator’s reigning 145-pound queen. She won the title with a TKO finish, and two of her three title defenses to date have also ended in stoppages. A similar finish over Cyborg would cement her status as Bellator’s most dominant female fighter.
Cyborg is heading into the fight with a point to prove and a chip on her shoulder. She wants to show the world her loss to Nunes was a rare aberration, and will be looking to serve up the sort of dominant display we’ve seen from her countless times over the years.
But against Budd, she faces a prodigious athlete who is likely to be every bit as strong as she is. Budd is a live underdog against Cyborg, but then again, so was Nunes at UFC 232 …
Who will make it to the final four of the featherweight grand prix?
Youth takes on experience in the night’s co-main event as the Bellator featherweight grand prix tournament continues with a match that at least one of the two combatants didn’t want.
Former bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell takes on undefeated young gun Adam Borics, with the former looking to reestablish his championship credentials and the latter looking to prove his worth among the 145-pound elite.
Caldwell (13-3 MMA, 10-2 BMMA) battled past Henry Corrales via decision, while Borics (14-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) finished former champ Pat Curran inside two rounds. And when Caldwell had the opportunity to pick his opponent during the selection show, he opted not to choose Borics and instead went for the latest possible matchup – a March clash with Pedro Carvalho.
But when featherweight champ Patricio Freire used his “champion’s choice” clause to pick Carvalho, it forced Caldwell across to the other side of the draw, and into a January clash with Borics. Now that they’re matched up and have had time to prepare, the pair are focused on the task at hand as they face off with a place in the semifinals at stake.
Will the grit and experience of former bantmaweight champ Caldwell prove crucial, or can “The Kid” produce yet another impressive finish to take his stock to new heights and put him just one win away from the final?
Can Sergio Pettis kick off his Bellator career with a win?
Sergio Pettis was once considered a rising star of the UFC’s flyweight division. But times change, and with the uncertainty over the UFC’s 125-pound division still hanging in the air, the younger brother of former UFC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis decided to play the field at the end of his UFC deal before opting to sign with Bellator.
He’ll make his debut on Saturday night in a fight many will expect him to win. But in fellow debutant Alfred Khashakyan he faces a dangerous knockout artist with a penchant for first-round finishes. In short, Pettis’ Bellator debut is anything but a gimme fight.
The Roufusport athlete will be keen to look good on his debut as he bids to open up his options moving forward, and with people calling him out from various weight classes, it seems there’s no shortage of people who fancy a piece of Pettis (18-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) moving forward.
But if he wants to move himself towards Bellator gold, he’ll need to hit the ground running with a solid win against a dangerous opponent. Will he get it, or will Khashakyan (11-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) continue his 100 percent finish rate with the biggest win of his career?
Will Raymond Daniels deliver another highlight-reel moment?
Raymond Daniels scored one of the best knockouts of 2019 when he starched Wilmer Barros with a stunning 720-degree punch at Bellator Europe 2 in Birmingham, England. It gave the former kickboxing star his first win as a mixed martial artist, some 11 years after he lost his professional MMA debut, and showed that he was ready to launch himself into the fray as a legitimate threat at 170 pounds.
The next test for “The Human Highlight Reel” sees Daniels (1-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) take on Jason King, and expectations are high for another eye-catching display.
Indeed, Daniels told MMA Junkie he plans on winning “in a style that people haven’t seen before,” and is already eyeing future fights with the likes of Michael “Venom” Page and reigning Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima.
But before any thoughts can turn toward mouth-watering clashes like those, Daniels needs to do the business against King (8-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA). If he can serve up an early contender for 2020’s “Knockout of the Year,” it might not be long before he gets that bump up in competition.
Can Aaron Pico bounce back with a win?
If it feels like we’ve been here before, that’s because we have. After a shock loss on his professional debut, Aaron Pico had to bounce back, and set off on a four-fight winning streak as a quartet of first-round knockout finishes propelled him towards the top of the featherweight division. But his rise proved to be too fast as he suffered back-to-back stoppage losses to contenders Henry Corrales and Adam Borics as Bellator pumped the brakes on Pico’s big-time push.
Now, after spending the second half of 2019 resting, recuperating and building his skillset, Pico (4-3 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) is ready to return on Saturday night. He’ll take on Daniel Carey, who told MMA Junkie this week that he was somewhat in disbelief at the fight booking given the fact he had finished five of his seven victories.
Carey is predicting a third straight knockout loss for Pico, while Pico himself has cut a defiant tone in his pre-fight interviews, declaring that he will “never quit.”
Will Saturday mark the start of a new winning run for Pico, or will Carey (7-3 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) send the blue-chip prospect back to the drawing board once again?
